Criticizing government patriotic, too

Because we knew the 4th of July was going to be a steamy day, our little band of volunteers got to work early. We had finished our project long before it was time for the picnic and fireworks up the road.

Our task was to clear Japanese knotweed from a small stretch of the creek running through our little hamlet. Knotweed, which I have bemoaned in this space before, is classified by the World Conservation Union as one of the planet's worst invasive species. Its bamboo-like stalks are taking over banks of waterways throughout the Eastern United States, crowding out native plants, narrowing water channels and thus worsening the potential for flooding. Its web-like roots are so sturdy that they can damage even concrete foundations.

Please do not tell me that you can cook knotweed like rhubarb. That makes this dreadful plant sound too benign. It's so evil that some banks in England won't write a mortgage for a home that has knotweed on its property, or even an adjoining lot; in Scotland, you can be prosecuted for spreading knotweed, even unintentionally.

Ah, those sensible Scots! What lobbyist will take up the good cause of convincing New York legislators to follow suit?

So I considered it my patriotic mission on Independence Day to join a little volunteer corps that is determined to help beautify the creek that meanders through the middle of our hamlet. Once the knotweed is in retreat, we can take on the burdock, another invasive plant (its clingy burs inspired the development of Velcro), and then put our muscles to other tasks that experts say will lead us to our ultimate goal: making our stream both more attractive and more hospitable for trout.

I'm not beating my chest here; my volunteer mission is neither heroic nor lacking personal benefit. Other volunteers take on projects that are truly admirable, like feeding homeless people or caring for those who are homebound and lonely, or bringing clean water and medicine to impoverished corners of the world. Next to such dedication, my sweat this week on behalf of Otsquago Creek is of little matter.

As we celebrate a long Independence Day weekend, then, let's honor the one-quarter of Americans who, according to researchers, volunteer to help others. Though it seems that more of us claim to do so than actually show up: More than half of New Yorkers told pollsters for Siena College Research Institute recently that they volunteer "helping others who are in need" at least "somewhat often."

The Siena poll, released this week, also found that eight out of 10 New Yorkers say they are proud to be Americans, and that 71 percent consider themselves patriotic. Volunteering is a patriotic endeavor, I'd say.

Another question on the poll gave me less comfort: About a quarter of New Yorkers are at least somewhat in accord with the notion that "it is un-American to protest against the actions of our government."

Of course, any real patriot appreciates the value of protest. After all, America was founded by protestors, patriots who were so determined to defend their rights that they wrote our Constitution with a specific provision protecting the right of all Americans to speak their minds — in the same clause that protects a free press from government intrusion and protects every religion from politicians' meddling.

Presumably, then, we should be grateful that only one-quarter of our neighbors are so ignorant of their heritage and the foundation of our system that they don't recognize that their free speech is at risk if we restrict the right of protest. But that one-quarter is troubling. It's about the same percentage nationally who last year told pollsters for Ipsos, the global research firm, that the president should have the authority "to close news outlets that engaged in bad behavior."

More amazingly, about one-quarter of self-identified Republicans, and 8 percent of Democrats, told Ipsos that "President Trump should close down mainstream news outlets" whose reporting he has disparaged. There's an all-American idea, right? Let's give the president the right to shut down pesky journalism outfits that aren't supportive enough!

Here's a better idea: Maybe people who agree that helping their neighbors is a patriotic task should consider creating a volunteer civic education corps, which could bolster training that our schools ought to be providing with greater energy. All Americans need to recognize that free speech is the cornerstone of our democracy, and that restricting it anywhere is a threat to its existence everywhere.

Sharing that fact is a volunteer task I, for one, would embrace. Just wait, please, until our band of volunteers can get the knotweed off the banks of the creek in our little town.